Just off the Explorer, July 21, 2019, Southampton, Spanish Med, 14 nights

[brillohead]

22 hours ago, OceansOfTravels said:

Quick question, on sea days, did you find the pools to be full/busy? We have four sea days, and I am worried about not having any space to get into the pool, or having any available chairs on the open decks. Are other places like the sports deck and Flowrider busy as well?

 

Any general tips/tricks you have for the Explorer? 🙂

 

Thanks in advance for your reply!

I'll be on your same cruise (9-day ABC) on November 29, so I can fill you in on the Caribbean pool situation after that.

[OceansOfTravels]

4 minutes ago, brillohead said:

I'll be on your same cruise (9-day ABC) on November 29, so I can fill you in on the Caribbean pool situation after that.

Thanks so much, you're actually on the cruise I wanted to book (my birthday is December 4th), but I wasn't able to get the entire week off. So I moved it to the next month where I could get more time 😉

 

Have a great cruise!

[brillohead]

Just now, OceansOfTravels said:

Thanks so much, you're actually on the cruise I wanted to book (my birthday is December 4th), but I wasn't able to get the entire week off. So I moved it to the next month where I could get more time 😉

 

Have a great cruise!

I'll have a drink for you!  A friend's 30th birthday is the first day of this cruise, so it's gonna be a birthday party week!

[Sancho_proudfoot]

10 hours ago, brillohead said:

I'll have a drink for you!  A friend's 30th birthday is the first day of this cruise, so it's gonna be a birthday party week!

 

Speaking of"birthday party week" , on the table behind us in the MDR, (a 10 top) was a group of Filipinos. During the first week, they celebrated no less that 6 birthdays. We did wonder what was so special about October in the Philippines............

 

[brillohead]

4 minutes ago, Sancho_proudfoot said:

 

Speaking of"birthday party week" , on the table behind us in the MDR, (a 10 top) was a group of Filipinos. During the first week, they celebrated no less that 6 birthdays. We did wonder what was so special about October in the Philippines............

 

My MIL had three of her six kids in the same two weeks (different years, obviously).  Makes ya wonder!  LOL

Edited August 7, 2019 by brillohead

[Sancho_proudfoot]

2 minutes ago, brillohead said:

My MIL had three of her six kids in the same two weeks (different years, obviously).  Makes ya wonder!  LOL

 

Were they born in September, or perhaps 9 months after FIL's birthday😏?

[brillohead]

1 minute ago, Sancho_proudfoot said:

 

Were they born in September, or perhaps 9 months after FIL's birthday😏?

September!  LOL

They were also farmers.... not much to do in the winter!

Edited August 7, 2019 by brillohead

[mugtech]

On 8/7/2019 at 7:16 AM, brillohead said:

September!  LOL

They were also farmers.... not much to do in the winter!

There is no winter in the Philippines, growing seasons all year.  It does get down to 70F at night in December and January.

[livylotte]

Thank you very much - we will be sailing on her in a few days and it's great to know she's in good shape.    I've read reviews where people say RC has really dumbed down the entertainment in the theatre - saying that movies were put on some nights so it's good to know that this isn't true.  Headliners on Navigator from Southampton last year were outstanding and we had quite a few famous acts on board so I was hoping for more of the same.  Sounds like we won't be disappointed.

 

Pleased to see the newer sunbeds.  We had the old style plastic strip ones on Navigator and they were really uncomfortable.

[steveatesh]

Thanks for taking the trouble to write this, after reading the reviews I was concerned - we are booked for the Canaries/Azores cruise and this has put our minds at rest.

 

Couple questions if I may on Dress code -

Are smart jeans allowed at all in the MDR on casual nights?

Are Polo shirts allowed in the MDR on either casual or smart casual days or does it have to be shirt and tie?

Formal nights - Are the Tux worn by the majority of men or is it mainly suits and ties? I can't decide which to take lol!

 

Thanks in Advance. 

 

 

 

[Clarea]

1 hour ago, steveatesh said:

 ...

Couple questions if I may on Dress code -

Are smart jeans allowed at all in the MDR on casual nights?

Are Polo shirts allowed in the MDR on either casual or smart casual days or does it have to be shirt and tie?

Formal nights - Are the Tux worn by the majority of men or is it mainly suits and ties? I can't decide which to take lol!

 

Thanks in Advance. 

 

 

 

 

Jeans and polo shirts are allowed.

[Sancho_proudfoot]

3 hours ago, steveatesh said:

Thanks for taking the trouble to write this, after reading the reviews I was concerned - we are booked for the Canaries/Azores cruise and this has put our minds at rest.

 

Couple questions if I may on Dress code -

Are smart jeans allowed at all in the MDR on casual nights?

Are Polo shirts allowed in the MDR on either casual or smart casual days or does it have to be shirt and tie?

Formal nights - Are the Tux worn by the majority of men or is it mainly suits and ties? I can't decide which to take lol!

 

Thanks in Advance. 

 

 

 

 

I would say - based on our recent Med cruise - that tuxes were 50/50 with suits and ties ( with, if course, several proud Scots in kilts).

 

As l said previously, a far higher proportion of folk dressing formally on formal nights on cruises from Southampton.

 

On casual/smart casual nights, jeans and polos fine, and we saw no scruffs, no baseball caps (bill front OR back). Even though it was casual, most people were, shall we say, decently dressed for a casual night.

[Sancho_proudfoot]

13 hours ago, livylotte said:

Thank you very much - we will be sailing on her in a few days and it's great to know she's in good shape.    I've read reviews where people say RC has really dumbed down the entertainment in the theatre - saying that movies were put on some nights so it's good to know that this isn't true.  Headliners on Navigator from Southampton last year were outstanding and we had quite a few famous acts on board so I was hoping for more of the same.  Sounds like we won't be disappointed.

 

Pleased to see the newer sunbeds.  We had the old style plastic strip ones on Navigator and they were really uncomfortable.

 

The new sunbeds are fine. They have retained a few of the old plastic strip ones, but almost always these stayed stacked and weren't used.

 

We had some great headliner acts:

 

The East coast Boys (Jersey Boys tribute)

Jimmy Tamley ( the ventriloquist from BGT)

 

Mick Miller, well known comedian

 

Allen Stewart, great Scottish impressionist/singer/comedian

 

Beatles Connection - at first, l thought "oh, it's just four guys singing Beatles songs" but once they got to the Sgt Pepper era they rocked!

Edited August 9, 2019 by Sancho_proudfoot

[dramamama628]

On ‎8‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 2:17 PM, Sancho_proudfoot said:

 

We had as headliners:

 

A comedian

A ventriloquist

An impressionist/singer

A comedy juggler

A 'Jersey Boys' tribute band

A 'Beatles' tribute band

Another comedian

A virtuoso violinist

 

In addition to the usual production shows, the Love & Marriage show and so on.

 

Both comedians did additional late night shows; the Beatles act did a matinee at 2pm the next day.

 

There was an entertainer in the Schooner bar who was there every night. He was hugely popular. I didn't know him before, but he is seemingly a cruise ship stalwart, Perry Grant by name. He also did a late night theater show. Entertaining, but not really my cup of tea.

 

The CD's staff were excellent. Neil from Brazil always added interesting twists to the games and trivia he ran, and Marvin was simply hilarious, mainly due to his personality.

 

(Of course, it is possible that none of the staff, nor any of the headliners will still be aboard come December. I am however pleased that the headliner standard is good)

 

 

Do you recall if there was Karaoke onboard.  My son's favorite activity!

[Sancho_proudfoot]

Just now, dramamama628 said:

Do you recall if there was Karaoke onboard.  My son's favorite activity!

 

Not my scene, but yes, karaoke, regularly and IIRC, a karaoke competition.

[livylotte]

Thanks Sancho

 

Mick Miller was on Navigator last year but we missed him because he was on the last night and we were too tired.  Cruising is very tiring 😃

 

Is there a bar in the Windjammer that serves speciality coffee?  

 

 

[steveatesh]

2 hours ago, Sancho_proudfoot said:

 

I would say - based on our recent Med cruise - that tuxes were 50/50 with suits and ties ( with, if course, several proud Scots in kilts).

 

As l said previously, a far higher proportion of folk dressing formally on formal nights on cruises from Southampton.

 

On casual/smart casual nights, jeans and polos fine, and we saw no scruffs, no baseball caps (bill front OR back). Even though it was casual, most people were, shall we say, decently dressed for a casual night.

 

 

Thank you, I appreciate that 🙂